Discover the secret weapon for marketers battling rising multichannel costs | MarTech

This article was co-authored by Aparajita Mazumdar And Audrey Brosnanexperts in the Gartner Marketing Practice, specializing in martech stack optimization, marketing technology, personalization and customer data management.

Marketing leaders are facing a new reality: the costs of running multichannel campaigns are rising at an unprecedented rate. Costs associated with technology, labor and media are skyrocketing, fueled by the sheer volume of campaigns and the shift to consumption-based pricing models for marketing technology.

According to Gartner’s 2025 CMO Spend Survey, CMOs and marketing leaders with the highest spend on marketing technology were almost twice as likely to report significant over- or under-purchases of consumption-based technologies. As a result, leaders are overwhelmed and underestimate the true costs of their activities. This lack of visibility clouds ROI and exposes organizations to significant strategic risks.

As brands strive to reach customers across more channels – social, email, search, display and beyond – the complexity and frequency of campaigns have increased dramatically. At the same time, marketing technology providers are moving from fixed pricing to models that charge based on actual usage. This means that every additional campaign, every new segment, and every piece of personalized content can drive up costs in ways that are difficult to predict and control.

Marketing leaders already have less room for strategic error in martech investments: According to the Gartner 2025 CMO Spend Survey, martech’s share of company revenue is 29% lower than in 2022. With shrinking budgets and rising costs, the pressure to maximize every dollar spent has never been greater.

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Deconstructing Campaigns: The Power of Unit Cost Analysis

One way forward is to break down campaign activities into their individual steps and apply unit cost analysis to each stage. Instead of viewing marketing technology and channel spend as monolithic, leaders should decompose their campaign processes into strategy, segmentation, channel configuration, content creation, assessment, execution and analytics. By understanding the cost drivers at each stage, marketers can identify inefficiencies, predict spend more accurately, and align spending with business value.

This detailed approach is more than just an accounting exercise: it is a strategic imperative. With Gartner predicting that campaign volumes will increase tenfold by 2034, the old ways of managing budgets simply won’t scale anymore. Unit cost analysis allows marketing teams to make informed decisions about where to invest, which campaigns to optimize, and which to eliminate. It also provides the transparency needed to justify spending to stakeholders and adapt quickly as market conditions change.

For example, if content creation takes up a disproportionate share of resources, marketers can explore automation, repurposing or outsourcing. If segmentation and channel configuration drive up technology costs due to consumption-based pricing, teams can refine their targeting strategies or negotiate better terms with suppliers. The result is a more agile, efficient and responsible marketing operation.

Scaling for the future: AI, financial accuracy and sustainable growth

The future of marketing is both exciting and daunting. As campaign volumes and complexity continue to rise, marketing leaders must embrace new tools and practices to stay ahead. When marketing works more like a mass production factory than a craft, deploying AI agents becomes real, either to increase scale and impact or to free up human talent for higher-value work. AI can help with everything from audience segmentation to content personalization, allowing marketers to scale their efforts without a corresponding cost spike.

But technology alone is not enough. Financial operations must be strengthened to ensure that every dollar spent delivers measurable value. This means closely monitoring both costs and results, continually optimizing underperforming campaigns, and adapting to the nuances of consumption-based pricing. By doing this, organizations can maintain their profitability and competitive advantage even as the marketing landscape evolves at breakneck speed.

Ultimately, the key to sustainable growth lies in transparency and accountability. Unit cost analysis is the foundation for both, allowing marketers to see exactly where their money is going and what it brings in return. As the pressure to do more with less increases, those who master this approach will be best positioned to thrive.

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From cost center to value driver

Gone are the days when marketing was considered a cost center. In a world where every campaign, channel, and technology decision can impact the bottom line, marketing leaders must become stewards of both creativity and financial discipline. By deconstructing campaign operations, applying unit cost analysis, and embracing AI-driven efficiency, marketing leaders can transform their organizations into engines of growth and innovation.

The road to marketing success in the next decade will be paved by those who understand its costs, measure its results, and adapt relentlessly. Now is the time to take action so that AI adoption can grow within cost control, rather than running into guardrails in panic.

With the right tools and mindset, marketers can capture not just unit costs, but the full value of each campaign.